Two Were Lost In A Single Day

They were two trusting souls, living a few streets apart. Unknown to each other, both fell victim to death by gunshot on a single day in Newport News.

Joe Ocasio and Jermaine Lee, both of Stoney Brook Estates, became the city's fourth and fifth homicide victims this year, when they were shot in separate incidents Saturday.

Ocasio lost his life in a shopping center parking lot on J. Clyde Morris Boulevard. Seven hours later, Lee was gunned down on Jefferson Avenue.

Both were the sons of military parents. And both families described their sons as having big hearts. If anything, they said, their sons tended to trust people too easily.

On the day they were killed, they were with people they trusted, their families said. Here are their stories. *

JOE OCASIO: The family wants people to see the other sides of the victim.

The person who shot Joe Ocasio didn't know him. Because if they did, they would have never been able to pull the trigger. The 23-year-old father was too nice and was loved by all who knew him, family members said Thursday.

Ocasio died after he was shot in the head while driving through the Bayberry Village Shopping Center parking lot in Newport News on Saturday. Three men were in his car at the time of his shooting.

Police think that one of the men, 21-year-old Demario Dewann Boyd, is responsible for the slaying. However, police have not yet located Boyd.

Ocasio would have known and trusted at least one of the people in his car that day because he wouldn't have had three strangers in his Mercedes, said Tricia Berg, his girlfriend of eight years and mother of his 19-month-old daughter, Kylee.

"We really don't know what happened. He trusted people too much, and he didn't believe that anyone would hurt him. That trust is what hurt him in the end," Berg said.

Berg -- as well as Ocasio's only brother, Luis Ocasio, and sister-in-law, Lindsay Ocasio -- spoke about Joe Ocasio's death Thursday, saying it was important for people to understand all the sides of Joe Ocasio.

"A lot of people, especially parents, never look at the good side. Yes, he made mistakes. He did stupid things, but he did that for his family," Berg said.

Berg said Joe didn't have any enemies. Everyone was important to him -- even the least popular person at high school.

"He looked after others and helped them stay out of trouble," Luis Ocasio said.

But he had his own share of trouble, according to court records. Joe Ocasio pleaded guilty to one count of robbery for a December 2003 crime and to one count of possessing marijuana in March 2003.

"I want people to know him like we do," Lindsay Ocasio said. "There are so many good sides to Joe."

A lot of people took advantage of his big heart, she said.

Joe Ocasio graduated from Woodside High School in 2001. Born in Houston, he was the son of an Army sergeant, Luis Ocasio Sr.

His parents, Luis and Beatrice Ocasio, declined to be interviewed for this article.

Ocasio's relatives describe him as a huge fan of musician Bob Marley and a man who constantly put the needs of his family ahead of himself.

"He was the fun parent, and he made a big impression on her (Kylee)," Berg said.

At the time of his death Joe Ocasio had been working hard to get his life on track. He had just started a new job as a waiter and was talking to Berg about the couple getting a place of their own.

"This is why it's so hard for me to deal with," Berg said. "This (his murder) was intentional, and that's the part I don't understand."

Berg said that after Joe's death, she had been stuck in a state of disbelief. But now -- in the mornings especially, when she wakes up alone -- she is starting to come to terms with the reality that Joe is gone.

Berg worries for their daughter.

"How do you explain to a child? How is she to understand how someone with such a big heart -- how someone could have done this to him?"

Joe Ocasio's funeral will be held at noon today at St. Jerome Catholic Church in Newport News. *

DEADLY ENCOUNTERS

Throughout 2006, the Daily Press will continue to focus attention on the problem of killings on the Peninsula -- and on possible solutions.